Travelers’ Adda Xplorer
Editor’s Note
Once again with a very good response from our reader, we are proudly launching the 3rd issue of
Xplorer. Lots of traveling, photography, riding and adventures have been done during last quarter.
This quarter we met many hard core travelers with us as active members. We are, as usual,
searching for new places and trying to provide interesting as well as useful information. Many more
ideas are coming forward for the betterment and development of our community.
Many events, many travelogues and so many pictures are continuously decorating our community.
We have many active members throughout this quarter like Hoodibaba, Arunava Das and Pradyut
Kumar Dey who are contributing lots of information and spreading motivation between us. One of
the fantastic and worth reading story is the story of a Ride to Laddakh shared by Hoodibaba.
Introduced to Travelers’ Adda by Shubham, this person is being a great motivation to all the riders
making this a myth that a small old Motorcycle can’t ridden for high altitude like Laddakh. Hats off to
this rider and wish him all the best for future.
This quarter my visit was to enjoy the monsoon on Bay of Bengal. I with my wife Swatilekha enjoyed
the beach too much along with the ride on my motorcycle. In future we are planning for more and
more travel with more fun and adventure and also planning to visit Himalayas in coming future.
Our group is becoming more and more popular in Facebook too and the credit goes to all the
members of the Adda. I must thank to Agnimitra Chowdhuri for his tremendous support to the
community. On the other hand Shubham must be appreciated for his efforts that he is spending on
building this community outside West Bengal. Last but not least we must thank Manojit for his time
and presence in this forum and sharing his valuable ideas for the development of the Adda.
Finally I’m thankful to you all to give a company for this forum and share our habit. We’ll always look
forward to bring interesting and adventurous stories and pictures for you. Thanks to all our members
for their sharing their stories and fantastic pictures.

The sun is on his southward journey and, as his blazing rays begin to slant, the subcontinent feels freedom from
the oppressive heat of summer months. The monsoon has infused new life into trees and grass. It was autumn
(Sharat). The weather was clear. The white clouds were floating on the blue sky. The sun rays were reflecting
from the dew drenched green grass. When the nature is so kind and mysterious then we four trekkers found
some time from our busy daily life to enjoy the thrills of the nature.

So, me, Tanurup, Somnath and
Subhra planed a trek to beautiful,
mysterious Roopkund. We started
on 16th Sept, 2009 on the day of
Janmastami (birthday of God Sri
Krishna). It seems that the dream
and desire comes true. We got
into the Amritsar Mail from
Howrah and reached Lucknow

Travelersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Adda

next day. We checked in a hotel
there. After having some rest, we
visited nearby glorious historical
places. Same day, we got into the
Naini Express at 10 PM and
reached at Lalkuan station by next
day early morning.
We have hired a car to Dewal
from the station. After having

some tea, we started, en-route we
crossed Haldwani, Kathgodam,
Bhimtal,
Bhowali,
Almora,
Kousani, Gwaldam, Tharli one by
one. We saw Pindar Ganga and
Koli Ganga River on the way.
Distance of Gwaldam from
Lalkuan is about 170 KM and
takes almost 6 hours. We had our

4

Trip of the month
June 2012

Roopkund by Pradyut Kumar Dey

lunch on the way. Gwaldam is a
very beautiful hill station. The
dense forest of Pine, Deodar and
the magical sound of the river
makes us emotional. We reached
Dewal around 3 PM.
But we faced a big problem when
we heard that the last car to Wan
had left for the day at 2 PM. All
the enjoyment lost suddenly. It
seemed that we lost all our hopes.
But I feel that, problem during a
trip gives more pleasure once
resolved. And definitely, god was
with us as usual. Suddenly, we
remembered that we should go to
that place (we came to know
about this place when collecting
information from Kolkata) where
we could find some help. There a
Bengali gentleman named Mr.
Raju Saha helped us a lot to reach
Lahjung. The God blessed us in
the form of a human. He gave us
a letter and after showing his
letter, Kamal Sing drove us to
Wan by his car. The rent was 650
rupees. It was 7 Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;clock in the
evening. The journey was through
the lonely, dark, dense forest on a
muddy road. Almost nothing was
visible outside. The road was not
in a good shape. There was
nothing to do but to pray to the
God for a safe journey. We
crossed Kuling village on the
way. At last, we reached Wan. All
shop keepers closed their shops.
However, after searching here and
there we found one shop was
opened. The kind God blessed us
this time also. The owner, Hayat
Sing was a teacher there. He
greeted us warmly and arranged a
home stay for us only for rupees
250. His wife served us hot tea
and potato pakora and the taste
was really good. It was very cold

and we have to start the trek next
morning. We had our dinner and
went to bed. In this atmosphere,
the sound of waterfalls seemed
like a music. We fell asleep
listening to it.
Day 1, 19-Sept-2009 (Wan â&#x20AC;&#x201C;
Bedini)
It was a bright clear morning. The
weather was very good. We have
started our long awaited trek with
our porter friends Ranjit Sing,

Tilak Sing and Bhuban Sing and
our guide Mohan Sing Dhawan.
The way was through the narrow
trail serpentining the hills going
upwards. The journey was
strenuous but full of adventure
and we enjoyed every moment of
it. After crossing 8500 feet of
altitude, we reached Ran Ki Dhar
and had some rest there. Now the
way was downhill through a
forest with the shadow of Deodar
trees. We could see some part of

the Shila Samundra Glacier
(Ocean of rocks) and Trishul.
Here the Sound of Neel Ganga
River reminded the
story of Lord Shiva and Goddess
Parvati. The source of Neel
Ganga River is Bedini Kund. We
have crossed small wooden bridge
on Neel Ganga River and after
sometimes later, we reached
Gairoli Patal. The route was now
upwards and full of stones. After
3 kilometers of steep climbing,
we reached Bedini Bugyal (12500
feet) via Doliadhor (11500 feet).
There is some flat area where
trekkers can camp for the night.
There is a huge grazing ground
for mules, horses and sheep.
There are small temporary houses
for the locals. They usually go
down in winter. The beauty of the
Bedini Bugyal was fantastic. The
blue sky and the alpine meadow
were remarkable. There is an
ancient temple in the meadow. It
was told that Veda Vyasa had
written the Veda here. We
collected permission to visit
Roopkund from here at rupees
500. It is hard to express the color
of sunset on Himalayas to those
who did not witness it. The
picturesque, red Trishul on the
east on sunset made us
spellbound. The snow clad
Choukhamba,
Hati,
Khuri,
Nilkantha are distinctly visible
within the distance on the west. It
seemed
that
the
majestic
Himalayan peaks and clouds were
playing to each other. It was a
thrilling experience and we
enjoyed each moment of it. First
time we are spending a night on
12500 feet. It was too cold to
resist. We had some tea and
biscuit. That brought some sort of
relief. At the evening we all

Travelersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Adda

sheltered into the tents. We had
our dinner early and moved into
the comfort of our warm sleeping
bags and went in slumber.
Day 2, 20-Sept-09 (Bedini â&#x20AC;&#x201C;
Hunipatar)
At this high altitude one of my
closed friends, Somnath faced
mountain sickness. He had to go
down to Wan. We felt very sad
for him. But what to do, we had to
look forward to complete the trek.
The nature is calling us; we did
not have any mindset to look
back. How tough the road is, does

not matter we are moving
forward. After 500 feet of steep
ascent, we got a road of mild
uphill and downhill. After
crossing it, we reached Ghora
Latauni at the altitude of 13000
feet. It is a very beautiful place
and hard to feel the Himalayas for
someone who did not witness this.
The morning is very bright, the
weather is clear. Time is 9:45
AM. On the left side magnificent
Choukhamba, Nandadevi, Pindar
are clearly visible whereas
spectacular Bhrambatoli bugyal is
on the right side. One trek route

6

from here leads to the Pindari
Glacier and the other one is going
to Joshimath via Kanol, Sutol. We
reached Patarnachauni at 10:45
AM enjoying the divine beauty of
the nature on the way. There are
three big holes here and a very
sad story behind it. The altitude is
13500 feet. Now the route is
strenuous to upwards. We are
facing some breathing problem
due to thin air and steep climb.
The route looks never ending. It
seems that we entered into the fort
of stones. Number of trees is very
less here.We can hear the sound
of bells of Koilubinayak. It brings
some devotional feelings to our
minds. Though, we are losing
confidence due to this never
ending strenuous climbing but we
have to reach to that mysterious
Roopkund. Atlast we reached
Koilubinayak at 1:45 PM at the
altitude of 15000 feet. There is a
small idol of Lord Ganesha
enclosed in a stone shrine. We
prayed to the Lord Ganesha with
some sweets and dry fruits which
we brought from home for a safe
pilgrimage to Roopkund. The
scenic beauty of the place and
spiritual stories of the temple
gave some relief to our pain. Here
the
clouded
snowcapped
Himalayan peaks brought some
new feelings. Neither the words
nor the pictures can do full justice
to this beauty. We are very lucky
to witness this. The deep virgin
forests,
breath-taking
green
meadows, glorious Himalayan
peaks, sound of river and streams,
snowfall, narrow walking trails
through the hills with endless
deep valley are unforgettable. We
can remind this forever. We are
anxious but we are enthusiastic,
curious and brave as well. It is an

Travelersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Adda

addiction to the nature and we are
floating with it joyfully.
Now we are moving towards
Hunipatar via Baguabasa. We
took little rest, had some food and
start walking again. This is a
straight strenuous climbing. Now
we have entered into the slate
zone. We found lots of different
colorful flowers in bloom on the
two sides of the road. After half
an hour later, we reached
Baguabasa at the altitude of
15500 feet. The temperature is
around 1 degree Celsius. We are
feeling a little headache due to

this high altitude. There is a small
cave here, established by Swami
Pranabanandaji. After a little
while, we found the lot expected
Bhramba Kamal. They are
flooded on the two sides of the
road. It is an awesome feeling
which
cannot be expressed in words.
The flowers of the Heaven had
come down to the Earth. At 2:15
PM, we reached Hunipatar. What
we saw, what we felt on the way
can be remembered for ever. It
may not be possible to come
here again but the memory will

7

always remain close to our heart
and soul. We will spend the night
here today. Our porters and guide
had already pitched the tents.
Some tiredness had been reduced
after having some tea. Trishul,
Nandaghunti are very closer from
here. Roopkund is located near
the base of these Himalayan
peaks.
The weather is now very good.
We are also feeling good at the
end of a tough day. New hopes
are on our eyes to see the
mystery. Again we enjoyed the
colorful sunset on the Trishul
accompanied by the clouds. It was
an excellent sunset to watch. The
nature was at its best form, eternal
and
unforgettable.
In
this
beautiful atmosphere, suddenly
we heard a sound of landslide. At
the evening, it was very dark,
nothing is visible outside. After
having dinner, we entered into the
sleeping bags.
Day 3, 21-Sept-09 (Hunipatar –
Roopkund – Patarnachauni)
Wake up early in morning to
enjoy the memorable sunrise on
the majestic Trishul, Nandakot,
Choukhamba. Our guide and
porters lit up fire with some dry
wood and were trying to escape
from such freezing cold. We
joined them and had our tea. Now
our journey started to that long
awaited Roopkund. It was 7:25 in
the morning. After 1 kilometer,
we found the road is very
challenging, narrow and full of
big stones and ice. It was very
hard to walk on with the freezing
cold. But the weather was good.
The endless route is straight
upwards as far as we can see.
Almost nothing is visible below

Travelers’ Adda

into the deep valley due to cloud
and mist. We took some rest and
started walking slowly through
this risky route of thick snow. It
was very uncomfortable to walk
on the thick snow of 2/3 feet
deep. It seemed that we will not
be able to return to home.
However, we are moving forward
with confidence and lots of hopes
in mind. We can see our tents
back clearly at Hunipatar.
One trekking team is coming back
through the narrow route of snow.
We were feeling very uneasy to
walk on to this scary road of soft

snow. We decided, we should
proceed up to the place we can
go. Roopkund is not far away
from here. We are moving
forward to that magical mystery.
But after a little while, all our
hopes, enthusiasm are lost when
Subhra is not agreeing to proceed
further. We travelled so long, we
did so hard work but we will not
be able to reach Roopkund; the
fact lost all our enthusiasm, hopes
and dreams. But what to do, we
all decided that there is no need to
take risk to this dangerous road.
Roopkund is still 800 feet above
from here. We are disappointed,

8

frustrated and felt very sorry that
we missed the chance so closely.
We did not have any ropes or
things which will help us to climb
up to this risky road. However,
what we have seen on the way
was awesome and over our
expectations. We have decided
our next plan calmly. We saluted
Hara-Parvati (Lord Shiva and
Goddess Parvati) from here. Our
porter went to that mysterious
Roopkund with some worship
items and a camera. After one
hour or so he came back. The
images
of
our
untouched
Roopkund made a permanent,
deep impression in our hearts.
The region of the Roopkund at the
altitude of 16300 feet of the
Himalayas was entirely covered
with a thick layer of snow and
difficult to access. We have heard
that lots of human skeleton were
found at Roopkund, they can be
seen only when the snow melts.
The mystery of the skeleton is
still unknown. At 12:30 PM, we
returned to Hunipatar and had our
lunch and got down to
Patarnachauni by afternoon. We
setup our tents and had dinner
early due to bad weather. It was
not possible to come out of the
tents in such a bad weather. It was
extremely cold. It seemed that the
tents will fly away with the strong
wind. We had nothing to do but to
pray to God. Somehow we spent
the night.

worried souls. We started walking
through the hill watching the
beauty of the colorful flowers.
Now we have to cross dense
Tebhaga woods. We have lost our
way in the woods many times. At
last, we reached Gharolipatal by
12:00 noon. We had our lunch
there. Before evening we reached
GMVN tourist rest house at Wan.
We decided to do a feast with our
porters and guide tonight. The rest
house is made up of wood and
surrounded with pine trees. The
chilling cold, the sound of bells of
a temple coming from far away

and the smell of food; the
atmosphere was really fantastic.
Next morning we hired a jeep and
started towards Kousani. What we
gained, what we felt from this trip
cannot be compared. The courage,
enthusiasm, joy achieved through
this journey will deeply live
forever in our souls.
The trek route:
Wan – Bedini – Patarnachauni –
Koilubinayak – Baguabasa –
Hunipatar – Roopkund Tor –
Roopkund – Ali Bugyal –
Tebhaga woods – Gharolipatal –
Wan

Day
4,
22-Sept-09
(Patarnachauni – Ali – Wan)
It was a bright, sunny morning.
After having tea, our guide,
Mohan Sing suggested to go to
Wan via Ali Bugyal, Tebhaga
woods. The world famous Ali
Bugyal gave some peace to our

Travelers’ Adda

9

I have rode from the Foothills of Darjeeling to the Bay of Bengal in the sweltering heat of April 2011, I have
done a midnight trip to Tiger Hill and watched the sun turn the Kanchendzonga from gold to yellow, I had
ridden to the Old Silk Route in the winter seasons and felt the chill, but this trip was nothing like before.

Prologue to the Ride:
It had been nearly six months
since our last bike trip to the Old
Silk Route. The open roads, fun,
adventure and most importantly
freedom had been calling out
since March. The time was due
and we were supposed to ride to

Travelersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Adda

one of the highest mountain lake
in the world, Gurudongmar Lake,
situated at 17100 feet above sea
level and a mere 9kms from the
China border. But then Amit
Nandi, one of the biker from our
Bengal trip backed out as his
mother asked him to not travel

mountains
citing
some
astrological mishaps were on the
cards. We were supposed to leave
on the 1st of May.
The cancellation was a big heartbreaker as we had planned it for
nearly a year (originally we were

10

Trip of the month
July 2012

Gurugongmar by Saura Bhattacharjee

supposed to visit the lake in
October but the earthquake had
led us to cancel it that time). The
1st of May came and went; the
heart-break and sadness grew
bigger and more painful. Then
slowly the thirst for adventure and
riding started overtaking our
emotions and within a couple of
days I and Kinjal were ready to
complete the trip to Ladakh
version 2.0 sans our bike gang
members.
The old excitement was back as
we started planning and preparing
for the trip. We met members of
SWAN, who had visited the lake
a few weeks earlier. They advised
us to take full protection and
warned that the roads were in
pathetic conditions and how
difficult it was up there. One of
my dadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office colleagues too
had expressed his desire to ride
with us but then his ailing heart
condition forced him to back
down.

As regards preparation, we
borrowed one set of biking gears
from a member of SWAN who
happened to be our friend. I had
been planning to learn how to
repair punctures but had not been
able to learn till then. So we
scraped the idea of taking any
spare tubes or foot pump and

risked a gamble with fate. I had
learned how to make the mixtures
lean or rich and how to adjust the
clutch cable (though I seriously
doubted being able to do that if
the need came).
There was also the possibility of
the road being closed due to
landslides but we were ready for

It was now the two of us, me and
Kinjal. The continued obstacles
had made us determined more
than ever to complete the trip. It
had become a sort of challenge to
both of us. Ramneek Singh, of
Xkmph who had made the trip a
few weeks back helped us a lot
sharing his experience with us. I
was sure about not being
approved leave for four days and
hence planned to just bunk office
and doing the explanation later.
Dr. Kinjal Banerjee (yes he is an
eye surgeon), who has been my
companion and pillion in every
crazy trip of mine was also ready
as ever.
Preparing for the ride:

Travelersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Adda

11

anything. We were ready to go
anywhere but not home in the
next few days. We had also a Plan
B in case we failed to make
Gurudongmar Lake – we would
visit Pelling.
Day 1:
The day finally arrived. After
spending a near sleepless night,
woke up pretty late as Kinjal had
some important work and we
would not be leaving early as
planned. We left home, with both
of our mothers praying for our
safety while hiding their anger on
our crazy unplanned sudden trip,
and started on our ride to live our
dream.
After
fuelling-up
“Dhanno” we thumped our way
through the metalled roads
enjoying the freedom and he
sound of the breeze whizzing past
our helmets that we had long been
craving for.
We reached Rangpo and rain
greeted us into the “Hidden Land
of Sacred Treasures”. In our hurry
to get out on the road we had
forgotten to buy plastic sheets to
cover the bag. We had to quickly
buy a plastic-sheet to protect our
bags from getting soaked up with
rain. In the process we ended
getting ourselves thoroughly
drenched. After having cholebatore at a Marwari hotel in
Rangpo we continued on our trip
having dressed to ward off the
rain, but we were sweating as
well. We reached Singtam, which
is a located 10kms from Rangpo,
and from there took the road left
after taking directions from the
policeman on duty in the traffic
post. A signboard informed us
that our destination Mangan was
50 kms away. The roads were

Travelers’ Adda

pretty good but then it wasn’t
quite the same all the way
through. We reached Mangan at
around 4.30 p.m. and after
checking out both high end and
low-end hotels we chose to spend
our night at Hotel Malling
Residency, which was pretty
cheap and well-maintained.
Day 2 :
We woke up pretty late, as the
District Collectorate’s office

would not open before 10 a.m.
and we were required to get our
Restricted Line Permit from there.
We freshened up, packed our
things
and
left
for
the
Collectorate’s office which was a
mere 4kms from our hotel. One
needs to provide photocopies of
the
driving
license,
bike
registration, blue book, insurance,
tax and a photo identity proof as
in Voter card or PAN card.

12

The employees were very helpful
and guided us through the
process. We wrote an application
to the District Magistrate stating
our desire to visit Gurudongmar
Lake and that we were taking the
risks personally. The DM was a
very kind person and he gave us
his best wishes for the journey
stating that the rain-gods too had
been pleased with us, as there had
been no rain in the past few days.
The sense of relief was evident on
our faces as we had been worried
the most regarding the weather
other than anything else. The total
time needed to obtain the permit
was approximately 20 minutes
and we did not need to spend a
single penny.
It was almost noon when we
returned to our hotel. After paying
our bill we spent another 20
minutes tying knots around the
bag to keep it falling from the
bike’s carrier we started on our
way to Lachen, a small village
located 60 kilometres from
Mangan, where we were to stay
up for the night. The roads were
okay till Toong, the first
checkpost, where the very helpful
and polite policemen stamped our
original permit, kept a Xerox of
the same and saw us off with best
regards.

from Mangan, by 2’o clock and
after having 3-4 chocolates
(according to Dr. Kinjal it was the
best way to keep fit) we started
out for Lachen. One important
thing to note is that mobile signals
are
not
available
after
Chungthang except BSNL. But
still it is advisable to call
everyone and inform them to

avert family
panicking as
dependable.

members from
BSNL is not

The road to Lachen was very
picturesque and we had a nice
photo session in one place along
with “Ðhanno”. We rode through
serpentine roads playing hide and
seek with the fading sunlights,

The 10 km road from Toong to
Chungthang was the worst-hit in
the earthquake of September 2011
and everyone had warned us of
shooting boulders (loose rocks
kept falling from the top) and lots
of muck. But we were very lucky
as it had not rained in the past 3-4
days and hence everything was
dry as powder. We reached
Chungthang, which was 30kms

Travelers’ Adda

13

stopping occasionally for some
fags or to rest our aching butts.
We crossed a place called Chaten
and reached the picturesque
village of Lachen at 4.30 p.m. We
stopped at the checkpost just
before entering Lachen where
another round of stamping
permits and registering was
completed. Thereafter, we arrived
at Hotel Dhongkha La as
recommended by Ramneek who
had guaranteed that it was the best
in Lachen. The owner provided us
with a 2-bedded room at a cheap
Rs.700.
After a brisk walk combined with
some photography sessions and
lessons (courtesy Kinjal), we
returned to the comfort of our
beds and rested our tired limbs.
We completed a nice dinner
comprising vaat-dal-sabji-chicken
and went off to sleep early. The
next day we had to start early and
this was one time that I would
never like to be late.

next destination Thangu which
was approximately 32 kms from
Lachen. Kinjal’s watch displayed
5.30 a.m. which meant we were
30 minutes behind our planned
departure.
The ride till Thangu, watching the
snow-clad mountains changing
colours or the sun rays peeking

through two mountains, was just
mesmerizing. I too was endowed
with some speed demons and rode
like hell through good, not so
good and terrible roads leaving a
trail of awe-inspired tourists in
their 4*4 SUV’s behind us. As we
climbed from 9000 feet to 10000,
11000 feet – the tall trees got
replaced by shrubs and barren

Day 3 :
The vibration of my cell phone
along with the heavy metal tune
of the alarm needs to ring atleast
five times before I wake up on
normal weekdays. But on this
particular day I was awake 15
minutes before the alarm was to
ring. The first thing I looked after
opening my eyes was the sky to
see how the weather was and I
was not heart-broken. The rays of
the morning sun was lighting up
the dark but clear sky as well as
the snow-clad peaks visible from
the room’s window. We quickly
freshened up and after enjoying a
fag and my dose of Diamox
(taken as a precaution for AMS)
we started thumping towards our

Travelers’ Adda

14

lands.
We reached Thangu, located at
14000 feet, at 7.00 a.m. and were
happy to have been able to
overcome our 30 minutes lag.
After having our staple diet (what
else other than Perk and
popcorns) and chatting up with
some tourists who were startled
seeing two guys riding upto
Gurudongmar Lake we continued
on our journey to the holy Lake,
amazingly sweating from the
warm conditions. It was another
30 kms ride to our final goal.
The
landscape
changed
completely a few kilometres after
Thangu, as a desert-like terrain
greeted us. We had seen pictures
of such places but to see that
beauty with one’s own eyes were
just incredible. We rode through
the cold desert, the snow clad
mountains that we see from our
roofs in Siliguri now just beside
us and reachable.
There was just endless desert like
terrain as far as our eyes could see
and the trail left by army trucks
and tourist vehicles were the only
means to know that we were on
the right track and not going
towards China.
Our next and final stop was at
Giaogong, the last army check
post, located 12 kilometres before
Gurudongmar Lake. The army
man checking the permits was
amazed by our craziness and
appreciated our adventurous zeal.
He gave us a token number 10,
and kept the original permits with
him. We were supposed to
retrieve them on our way back (a

Travelers’ Adda

nice way to ensure no one gets
left out).
Finally, we were approaching our
destination and the excitement
was getting over my driving
senses. We had to ride over loose
soil and boulders and more than
once
the
bike
skidded
dangerously but nothing serious.
We were just awestruck by the
beauty of the place – the crystal
clear sky, the snow clad peaks
looking so close, the white clouds
seemingly within our reach and
the vast endless land till the
horizon. The beauty can be
captured in high powered camera
lens but the feeling – well you
need to be there.
We raced through but increasing
height meant power loss for the
bike and slower pace but we kept
on riding stopping occasionally
for taking snaps and around 8.40
a.m. we arrived at Gurudongmar
Lake. The last 100 meters was a
high elevation and my bike gave
up. Kinjal quickly disembarked to

reduce the weight on the bike and
I half-clutched and talked dhanno
all the way up in any means
possible as there was no way I
was going to let her miss the view
of the lake.
The first view of the lake filled
my heart with joy, pride and a
sense of achievement. I parked
Dhanno and went back to help my
pillion up the elevation. Kinjal
was struggling with the bag and
the 5 litres petrol jerry can that we
had brought for emergency. The
thin air and low oxygen density at
17100 feet made climbing any
sort of elevation a tough job and I
eased the bag off him to help him
get back his breath.
We both just stood there watching
the beauty of lake and savouring
every sense of joy in achieving
our dream for quite some time.
Kinjal went down the stairs (I
seriously doubted myself due to
my smoking habits) to the banks
of the lake to collect some holy
water. I was amazed to see army
15

jawans bathing in the cold
freezing waters of the lake while
we were shivering with cold.
Kinjal came up after collecting
the water and taking some snaps.
We then visited the sarvdharmasthal and offered our
prayers thanking every God for
their blessings to help us live our
dream.
After spending some more time
taking pictures and chatting up
with awed tourists we bade
goodbye to Gurudongmar and
started on our way back at around
9.30 a.m. The excitement had
subsided a bit as our mission was
almost complete and now we
started feeling trouble breathing. I
was not able to view properly
with my right eye and Kinjal
stated that exposure to so much
dust had dried up my eyes. It
brought a relief as I was thinking
that it was the first step to going
blind. We sped down the loose
soils and boulders in order to
reach lower altitudes which meant
more oxygen.
On the way back we got a bit
scared too as we thought that we
must have come on the wrong
route as we could not see any
vehicles although the tracks left
by their wheels were visible.
Finally, an army truck provided
relief informing that every way
leads to the same place. We
reached Giaogong, got back our
original permits, thanked the
jawans and continued on our way
back.
We arrived at our hotel at 1 p.m.
riding through hot temperatures
and dust much to the amazement

Travelers’ Adda

of the owner who had expected us
a little late. We were dying of
hunger and after a heavy lunch we
let our body get some much
needed sleep. The sleep helped us
shake-off the tiredness and we
then celebrated our achievement
with some rum and chips. The
hotel owner too joined us and was
a very nice person. We had a nice
adda session before a great dinner
comprising roti, sabji and pork
(which was awesome). The next
day we were to return home and
hence got to bed early (as in 11’o
clock) and slept off dreaming
about the heaven to where we had
been.
Day 4:
Woke up at 5.30 a.m. and slowly
freshened up. The thought that
today was the last day of our trip
made us go into a slow mode.
Finally we got ready, paid our
bills, thanked the hotel owner for
their hospitality promising to
return very soon, bade farewell to

Jyoti (who served us as if we
were her own brothers) and
started on our 200kms ride back
to Siliguri and more pathetically
to our everyday lives.
The roads did not seem as tough
as it had while coming up and we
sped down to Toong, where the
policemen kept our original
permit. We reached Mangan at
around 11’o clock and after a
quick breakfast started back
towards Singtam. The cool
weather of Lachen slowly made
way for sweltering heat and by
the time we reached Rangpo I was
ready to ride naked, if that
guaranteed some respite from the
heat. We stopped at a shop just
after entering West Bengal, drank
full bottles of cold drinks and
continued upon our return
reaching Siliguri at around 4 p.m.
Our mothers were the most happy
to see their sons back home safely
without a scratch.

16

As a Bengali foody the name "kollimalai" always seemed to me as a sweet. But kollimalai is a hill station with
lots of unknown place with lots of unknown adventures and surely A HEAVEN for nature lovers.

Like the most of my other trips I
printed the maps from google
map, and prepared my route.
Though this time I was bit tensed
as I planned this trip as a one day
trip, one way is 350kms, so total

Travelersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Adda

riding would be 700kms, and this
is the 1st time I am going to ride
with Sujoy. But this plan didn't
work. I planned this trip for the 1
holiday after CAT2 exam. We

slept early and started the journey
at 3.30 am.

17

Trip of the month
August 2012

Kollimalai by Shubham Bairy

The last evening I checked the air
pressure, engine oil level (I had 1
lit extra for top up). I reached
krishnagiri in just 2 hours, means
in proper time. After entering
Salem, I could not find the main
road for Kolli hills. As we asked
the local people, they showed the
road which was not in our map,
and we lost our way. That time
the sun was scorching on our
head, and we need to go 100kms
more to reach on normal village
road, and no sign of hill on our
sight. We were very tensed and
worried about the place. This time
we didn't had any camera so we
clicked all the pictures on our
2mp mobile camera, SORRY for
picture quality. However, we
followed the route showed by
local people. After crossing
100kms of normal village road we
could find the hill road consists of
85 hairpin bends. Our cup of joy
overflowed. After crossing the
hairpin bends we found that roads
are in "working progress"
condition. They were allowing us
to move further. But that was me,
who didn't listen to anybody
started riding on rough road full
of sand, stone chips. Even I fell
down once when I started to ride
with pillion on this road but
nothing happened. We continued
our journey to Akash Ganga
waterfalls, where we encountered
1000steps. It was really huge and
full of water.

This image was believed to
represent the spirit of a maiden
who lured wayfarers by her
beauty and then killed them.
After visiting this place we
decided to stay here for the day,
started searching for lodge. But
no hope, we came back to
Simmendu, which is 15 km before

the kolli hills and the city point,
where I got the lodge. Two
bedded 450/- one night with
parking place also, good deal at
that moment. After having lunch
and we rested for 2 hours in room
as we was tired. After having rest,
we had enough energy to travel
around again. We started riding to
the places of interests, by

Do you know the history of this
name
Kolli
hills?
These
mountains
were
sometimes
known as "Kolli Malai", the
"Mountains of Death". The reason
is that early literature records the
existence of an image called
Kollippavai on top of these hills.

Travelersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Adda

18

following the map on Bus stand.
After that we call it a day, and
switched of my bike engine for
the day.
Next morning we took breakfast
and started return journey at
8.30am, but after coming down to
plan land, it was very hot. It was
nearly impossible to ride, we were
riding for 30mins and was taking
rests, we were making our gloves
wet and riding, taking lots of
water to get rid of this heat, at
4pm we reached Krishnagiri,
from there my place is only 130
kms, but we decided to wait in the
KRP dam park for some time to
take rest then we will start again.
INFORMATION:
Kolli Hills or Kolli Malai is a
small mountain range located in
central Tamil Nadu in Namakkal
district of India. The mountains
are about 1000 to 1300 m in
height and cover an area of
approximately 280 kmÂ˛. The Kolli
Hills has 70 hair pin bends to
reach the top of the hills. The
Kolli Hills are part of the Eastern
Ghats, which is a mountain range
that runs mostly parallel to the
east coast of South India. The
mountains
are
relatively
untouched by commercial tourism
and still retain their natural
beauty.
Two viewpoints - one at
Seekuparai and another at Selur
Nadu - are being developed to
encourage
tourism.
The
government maintains a pineapple
research farm where hybrid
varieties are created. Research
about medicinal plants is also
pursued on these mountains. The

Travelersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Adda

government holds a tourism
festival in August. Kolli Hills has
been the top choice for nature
lovers,
hiking
enthusiasts,
trekking clubs and meditation
practitioners among hill stations
in Tamil Nadu. In comparison to
other hill stations in Tamil Nadu,
Kolli Hills is not commercialized;
less polluted and offers unique
mountain ranges. Agaya Gangai
is the famous waterfall situated
near the Arappaleeswarar temple.
Though it is called as Akash
Ganga.
How to reach Kollimalai
By road
Kollimalai is well connected to all
the major cities of India. It can be
reached by road from Chennai,
Salem,
Namakkal
or
Tiruchirapalli. National Highway
45 from Chennai takes you till
Ulundurpettai, from there you
will have to branch off on the
road leading to Salem. A further
southward diversion at the main
town of Attur, will lead to
Malliakarai, Namagiripettai and

Belukkuruchi, at the foot of the
Kolli hills. If approaching from
Salem, you can take the
Rasipuram-Namakkal road via
Kalappanayakanpatti, and reach
Nadukombai from where the ghat
road begins.
By rail:
The nearest railway station to
Kollimalai is Salem 100kms.
From there you will have to take
cab, taxi or bus.
By air:
The nearest
Tiruchirapalli,
Kollimallai.

Airport is in
90kms
from

Where to stay:
Arrow Mansion lodge
Near Indian bank,semmendu
Ph: 9443694907, 04286-247494
Resorts:
Nallathambi Resort & Wild
Orchid Camp, Kolli Hills
More information is available in
internet
on
their
website.

19

Lazy Weekend

Tajpur - Mandarmoni by Suryajit Bhattacharya
Again, from a Traveler from Travelers’ Adda, this time also a Rider from Riders’ Adda. We Riders at Kolkata,
seriously lacks places to ride to, looks for mountains and fountains. Well, mountains are unbeatable but, have to
ride without it. Well, we also have something which gives us absolute pleasure, powerful and beautiful enough
to wonder us. Yes, it’s Bay of Bengal. And we are lucky enough to live at a distance which is good to give you
a nice road trip for weekend.

During Monsoons, nothing
be like having Khichdi and
to Bay of Bengal. Well, I
trip in my mind but

Travelers’ Adda

could
a ride
had a
never

expressed to anyone as I was not
completely confirmed whether to
do this or not. It was Wednesday
when I asked Swati whether she is

okay if we have a road trip this
weekend. As expected, she was
absolutely fine with that. I said,
we’ll start Saturday morning then

20

and back by Sunday evening. She
replied whether I’ll be fine to join
the office on Monday by doing
this? I said, yes. But I know, it’s
not that easy as I’ll have to cover
my the entire next week to my
office without any rest, and I
didn’t get any rest since 4
weekends before.

Thursday I called Swati that we’ll
be moving on next day as I
applied a leave on Friday. When I
back from my office, I asked
Swati whether we are going or
not. I asked because I was very
tired. She replied, yes. I said, only
if I feel okay next morning, and
will be starting little late instead
of starting at 4:00 am. She was
okay with that. Next morning I
woke up around 6 as I did
packing my stuffs in the saddle
bags till 12 in the night. After
tying the bags with the
Motorcycle and finishing a small
breakfast, we finally started at
9:30 am.
The weather was absolutely
pleasuring with little clouds and
little cold in the morning.
Through SH-13 (Old Delhi Road)
we turn right to the Bidyabati Tarakeswar road and continued
till NH-2 at near Singur. Then we
continued till Baly and left NH-2
and entered NH-6 which took us

Travelers’ Adda

to Kolaghat after around 1 and
half hour. We halt there for
around 10 minutes; I ordered one
Tea and Swati having nothing,
was busy with calling our parents.
I feared that the road condition
from Kolkaghat to Nandakumar
(somewhere in middle of Kolkata
– Tajpur) is going to be another
worst experience as when I
visited an year back, it was
pathetic. But as I entered that road
I understand that it’s not going to
be that bad rather it became one

of the best riding conditions with
6 Lanes. Till Nandakumar I didn’t
had any issue and was a pleasant
experience. The bigger issue was
with the road condition from
Nandakumar to Kontai. I was
feared, since Swati was with me
and she doesn’t really likes bad
roads which is quite obvious with
a pillion on FZ-16. That road is
also famous for road accidents
due to its narrow width. Again I
was again fooled as I entered the
road. The road was like Black

21

Carpet till Kontai. But the same in
increasing the risk as when the
roads were in very-very poor
condition, the Buses and Cars
used to run at a speed more than
80 km/h. And now the road
condition is pleasant, increasing
the risk of unpleasant incident.
The road was full of sharp turns,
shiny green small trees on both
sides. When the sun was looking
through the scattered clouds, the
leaves was shining that much that
it was difficult to keep eyes on,
due to rain in the morning and a
day before. Parallel to the road
there is a waterway on the both
sides, looks like rivers, just
behind the trees. These canals
were made to grab soil to incline
the Roads. Also the area goes
through the villages giving a
beautiful, soft view of Incredible
India. Miles and miles of ponds
for fishkeeping was just lighting
the nature with the reflection of
sunlight.
Anyways, we reached Kontai and
I need some cash to be withdrawn
from ATM. I remember HDFC
ATM there at the highway. It’s
recommended that you get
enough cash before visiting
Tajpur or Mandarmani, or you’ll
have to come back to Kontai for
cash if needed. By mistake I
entered the town where I was
supposed to go through the
highway which touches the town
from outside. The town was much
crowded and took around 15
minutes to get lost from there.
Finally I found the ATM and did
my job there and moved ahead.
Now what, everything was
nearby. Earlier I turned left from
Chawlkhola to visit Mandarmani.
This time we continued 10-12

Travelers’ Adda

more kilometers for Tajpur. After
asking locals we left the highway
and turn left to Tajpur. As we
start riding that road, we found
that once there was something
called ROAD. Now its grave
sized potholes in an7-8 feet wide
passage which runs around 25-30
feet above the ground and
surrounded
by
ponds
for

fishkeeping. Well, it was around 4
km in length and you can easily
see the other side which is Tajpur.
This road was bad but was giving
one of the best views of this trip.
Wind was blowing and forcing
small trees to hail us by touching
the ground. The smell of Ocean
was attracting us and we were
completely lost in that lonely

22

place. How you describe is up to
you, superb environment, very
poor road or I must say no road,
no other creature like us, making
it romantic or adventurous.
Finally we reached Tajpur, an
under construction place, a very
few hotels, away from the beach.
One big car on the beach was
describing the presence of few
other people. We asked for rooms
in some of the hotels but rooms
will be available only for one
night and next day at early
morning we’ll have to check out.
That’s not good. That’s not what
we planned. We visited the beach,
which is, speaking clearly, not
that attractive with small, verysmall waves containing too much
of sand. So we changed our plan
from A to B.
Let’s visit Mandarmani, Swati
asked. I said, why not. Swati
visited there during December
2011 but was not in a condition to
enjoy the beach due to cold. This
will be her chance to do that, I
said, and moved back to
Mandarmani. This time a hotel
opposite to JP Resort and just
beside Hotel Live Sea Valley –
The Hotel Panthatirtha was our
choice as we selected this hotel
for our next stay during last Visit
in December. The only issue was
the availability of hotel room. We
got a Non AC room, at 800 INR
till next 1:00 pm. It was around
3:30 when we entered the hotel
room, did some quick lunch, get
changed and moved on to the
beach. Wow, really nothing could
be like lying on the beach during

Travelers’ Adda

monsoon. We found, there are
only 2 couples were having a bath
and around a total of 20 people
could be seen on around the
beach. After 2 hours on the beach,
we get back to our room. Around
6:30 in the evening we gone for a
walk had some food and come
back to the resort campus as it
was high tide. Till 11:30 we spent
there. Far away from crowed,
watching ocean in moonlight will
give you ultimate happiness. The
waves were touching our feet
while sitting in the Hotel campus.
You can thing or believe what I’m
expressing but go there during
full moon night or just before or
after full moon, to feel it. The
dinner was already ordered and
served after 11:30 in our hotel
room. They gave me a Mosquito
coil as they knew that an attack
was about to start. I didn’t light it
up. Around 1:30 in the midnight, I
found myself losing everything

because of Mosquitos. I thought
to light the coil but where is the
lighter? They gave me coil but
didn’t give me any lighter and I
was in my mood so forget to ask
for that. Well, something I had to
do. So I get out of my room and
looking for someone. Luckily I
found the watchman sleeping on
his chair beside the beach side
gate. I ask him for the lighter,
again luckily he had one and I
started lighting the coil in the
corner. The fun was to see the
watchman watching me strangely.
When I ask, he said I must hold it
between my lips to light it. As
show him the coil, he said sorry,
as he was expecting Cigarette and
I was looking like lighting
something else. Anyway, the
Mosquitos were obedient enough
to the coil.

23

Next morning I woke early at
4:00 am, asked Swati to come
with me to the beach for some
photography. She denied and
continued dreaming. Well, after
getting fresh, around 4:40 am I
start my motorcycle and start
riding on the beach, did some
photography. Around 5:30 am,
when I was sitting on my bike
without stand and both legs on the
foot-pegs, Swati called me and
said that she is ready and want to
come with me and she came to
that Tea Stall. After tea break, we
visited the Mohana of the river
and ride on sand, on waves
coming here and there. It was a
fine morning and the sky was
looking deep blue from the
windows of clouds. Around 8:00
am we did some breakfast and
back to hotel to get ready for a
bath. Till 10:40 we were playing

Travelers’ Adda

with waves. Before we saw 20
people and that day there were
only 17 people on the beach
including us, massively unlike
beaches like Digha. Well then we
get back to hotel to get ready,
pack the bags and by 12:30 we
were ready. Swati was not very
much interested in coming back
and was looking at the waves
slapping the wall of resort. I
asked her if she want to stay one
more day, but she said she is
happy
enough
with
this
experience for the time being. We
leave the resort by 1:00 pm and
halted at a beach side Dhaba for
tea and lunch. The back journey
was also very interesting through
the same beauty from different
direction. We passed again the
beautiful and dangerous road till
Nandakumar and then halted at
Sheer’E Panjaab at Kolaghat for

some snacks. Rest of the road we
covered was the same way as we
came. We reached our most
pleasant place by 6:30 pm.
Everyone have their own way of
traveling, watching places and
feeling the difference. This is how
I felt during my Tajpur Mandarmani road trip. I’m very
much thankful to Swati for giving
her company and being with me; I
know it’s more difficult to stay as
pillion than riding the machine. I
also very thankful to my parents
to have their patients during my
trip as this too was not an easy job
to allow traveling on motorcycles,
in India at least. Traveling is
something that I like too much
and I believe that this is why I
love my home too much.

24

Heritage

Imambara by Suryajit Bhattacharya

On a move to visit some historical
places, an obstruction for a Rider
is rainy weather. So during the
selection of places, I kept some of

Travelersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Adda

very nearby places for such rainy
days. One of such places is
Imambara (Hooghly) visited on
June 24, 2012 with my wife

Swatilekha. It was actually visited
years back during college days
with a friend called Swatilekha.

25

Hooghly Imambara was built
Muhammad
Mohsin.
The
construction of the building was
started during 1841 which
completed in 1861. It’s a two
storied Imambara with Mosque.
There is a tall clock tower
indicating the huge gate of the
Imambara. There is a prayer
hall which is the main attraction
of the place. The prayer hall is
decorated by hanging lanterns
and marbles. The entire wall of
prayer
hall
has
little
complicated
but
beautiful
design and filled by text from
Quran. All the glass works done
using Belgium Glass. It’s taken
under Hooghly Municipality
and
currently
under
a
renovation process. The best
time to visit is during
Muharram as all the hanging
lanterns get lighted and the
entire place gets decorated for

Travelers’ Adda

prayer. If visiting during
Muharram, visit between 6 pm
to 7 pm as after that it’s not
allowed entering as the prayer
starts.
NOTE: Photography Inside
Prayer
Hall
Is
Strictly

Prohibited. On Special Request,
Imambara Authority Allowed
Travelers' Adda For Still
Photography. With All Due
Respect To The Place We Are
Posting Only One Picture Of
Prayer Hall.

26

This is a new section introduced by Travelers’ Adda. We will select one of our members as travel guru who has
extensive exposure in travelling and passion to share experience with others.
We are proudly declaring Hoodibaba (Dinesh Sharma) as Travel Guru for this quarter.

He has travelled mostly in the
Northern Himalayas with Caliber
115 cc bike. He is 56 years old
and working in a Government
Office at New Delhi. Basically,

Travelers’ Adda

he is a solo rider and his recent
trip was to Udaipur-SasangirDwarka-Narayan Sarovar-Rann of
Kutch in the first week of April,
2012.

After becoming a member of
Travelers’ Adda, he is constantly
sharing his travel experiences
with other members of the forum.

27

Travel Guru

Travel Guru Hoodibaba

Through this travelogue I would like to remind all those who have smaller bikes with low cc power or those
who have crossed their prime age, like myself, that it is possible to achieve anything. All that matter is the
passion and zeal to do it. If I can do it, so can anybody else. So man, come out on the road and drive as far as
you can.

Ever since I had returned from
Ladakh last year, I was looking
out for a chance to face the
challenge of extreme hot weather
and what better I could think of

Travelers’ Adda

than a solo ride from Delhi to
Ajmer-Udaipur-Junagar-Sasan
Gir-Dwarkadish-Narayan Sarovar
-Rann of Kutch-Dholavira.

Since, in the first week of April,
there were only three working
days and I thought why not take
leave for Monday, Tuesday and
Wednesday and make it a total of

28

Travel Guru’s
Desk

Sasan Gir – Rann of Kutch by Hoodibaba

9 days leave. I kept one day for
rest after the long trip and was
thus left with just 8 days to test
my limits. I left Ghaziabad on
Saturday the 31st March (00.00
hrs) with the aim to achieve the
target in just 8 days and return on
Saturday the 7th April, 2012. My
Caliber 115 (Hoodibaba) was all
smiling for this great adventure
though it looked impossible.
First of all, I would like to thank
the Gujarati fellows who whole
heartedly supported me and
provided hospitality wherever
they had a chance to interact with
me during this trip. I would also
like to mention that I found the
roads – State High ways and even
the interior roads in Gujarat –
very well maintained which made
my drive in whole of Gujarat
smooth and comfortable. One
thing I missed most in Gujarat
was the local cuisine DHOKLA
as whenever I asked for it, it was
finished !!!! May be I was too
buzy driving.

very hot. Reached Udaipur in the
evening and booked a room at
Dak Bungalow for Rs. 90/- per
day. The stay was comfortable.To
conclude Day’s visit, I must admit
that driving on NH 8 was really
tough as repair work or road
widening
is
being
done
throughout starting from Gurgaon

to beyond Bewar in Rajasthan and
the pace of completion is very
very slow. In fact, I could not find
any worker at any site.
Day 2: Sunday, 1st April, 2012
Visited the City Palace (charges =
Rs. 75 for entry, Rs. 200 for

Day 1: Saturday, 31st March,
2012
I started from Ramprastha
(Ghaziabad) at 00.00 hours on
Saturday, the 31st March, 2012
and after crossing traffic jam at
Gurgaon and the diversions on
NH 8 all the way upto Jaipur,
reached Ajmer and visited the
Durgah. There after left for
Udaipur. The temperature rose as
the day progressed making it
really very difficult to drive on
the high way. Had to stop
frequently as I was feeling
dehydrated in the blistering heat.
Not many vehicles were playing
on the road. It was really very

Travelers’ Adda

29

camera and Rs. 150 for Guide).
The visit was worth every penny I
spent. Of the above, City Palace
only is a must see place when you
are in Udaipur. Could not visit
Kumbhalgarh Fort at a distance of
70-80 kms due to shortage of
time.
Day 3: Monday, 2nd April, 2012
I started from Udaipur early
morning and crossed Rajasthan by
10.00 a.m. The landscape
changed dramatically as I entered
Gujarat, it was more green and
lively and there was clear sign of
prosperity all over. I could not
visit Shayamalaji Temple on NH
8
and
turned
towards
Gandhinagar to have a look at it.
It looked better planned and
administered than the State
Capital i.e. New Delhi. Again
turned towards NH 8 on my way
to Junagarh. Now the heat was
making the ride more difficult and
the Dhabas/Restaurants were far
and few. On the way I saw
hundreds of devotees walking on
foot to have blessing of Devi,
some 150 kms. away. Their
discipline and devotion was
clearly in contrast to the
Kanwarias who throng the NH 58
on
Delhi-Haridwar-Delhi
highway and create a big law and
problem for the administration. I
reached Junagarh in the evening
and booked accommodation at
Girnar Hotel managed by Gujarat
Tourism for a nominal charge of
Rs. 250/-.

lane but there was no problem in
the early hours. Last few
kilometers had to drive in the
forest and that too in the dark and
was a bit scary since I was in
Sasangir . Reached the Reception
Centre of Gir Sanctuary and
National Park by 6.00 a.m. and

was advised by the receptionist to
adjust my seat with one of the
fellows who still had seats
available as it would be cheaper.
Asked a few persons and one
person had only 4 members team
and thus accommodated me as
now they had to shell out around

Day 4: Tuesday, 3rd April, 2012
Woke up early and left Junagarh
at 4.15 a.m. to reach Sasangir (58
kms) by 6.00 a.m. The road is a 2

Travelersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Adda

30

Rs. 400 less for the permit and the
transport cost. We entered the Gir
forest by 6.30 a.m. and within
half an hour were lucky to spot
the Lion, the King of Gir Forest
entering the bushes. All of us
were spell bound and were just
watching him as he was walking
away from us in the bushes. He
was not perhaps comfortable with
the presence of humans and the
jeeps around him as we had
encroached his territory. He made
his presence felt and roared a
couple of times. After walking
away from us about 50 yards, he
stood still and moved his head
towards us and we could hardly
watch him through the bushes. I
used my binocular to watch him
clearly. He looked at us quite a
few numbers of times and then
turned his head in the opposite
direction and sat on the ground.
Perhaps he wanted us to leave. I
could not take clear pics as now
he was at quite a distance for my
PS camera. But I was satisfied to
see him in his full glory and
respecting his freedom, moved
away after spending around half
an hour with him. Could not spot
another lion and thus came out of
the Forest sanctuary by 9.30 a.m.
and left for Somnath via Veraval
which is around 60 kms away.
Reached Somnath Temple with
ease and the police personnel at
the Temple helped me park my
bike near their police post. It was
so kind of them. As they took care
of my bike, I went inside the
Somnath Temple. It is situated on
the sea shore and has been
reconstructed a number of times.
The police personnel were
amazed to see me having come all
the way from Delhi, and that too
solo on a simple bike. They

Travelersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Adda

guided me for my onward journey
to Porbandar.The roads were in
good condition although I had to
drive just along the sea shore on a
number of occasions. and after
crossing
Porbandar
moved
towards
Dwarka.
Reached
Dwarka by 6.00 p.m. and booked
accommodation at Gujarat Tourist

Lodge near the Circuit House.
Since I had already visited
Badrinath Dham, Puri Dham,
Rameshwaram Dham, it was the
last Dham which I was now
visiting as it is considered
auspicious to visit all the Four
Dham in a life time according to
Hindu mythology. And it was

31

indeed a great moment for me. I
visited the Dwarkadish Temple at
8.15
p.m.
and
was
so
overwhelmed by the atmosphere
inside the temple that I did not
wish to come out. Thanks you
Hoodibaba, my bike, for having
made it possible for me to visit
Dwarkadish.
Day 5: Wednesday, 4th April,
2012
Had
another
Darshan
at
Dwarkadish in the morning and
visited other places around the
temple before departing for Bet
Dwarka.
The
Temple
of
Dwarkadish at Bet Dwarka is still
under renovation and after
visiting the temple returned to
Okha by ferry. On the way back
surprisingly there was no chaos at
the jetty at Bet Dwarka.Had some
breakfast at Okha and started my
onward journey via Jamnagar and
Morbi for Samakhiali on the way
to Narayan Sarovar via Bhuj (to
be visited the next day). Needless
to mention that the State Highway
to Jamnagar was in excellent
condition. However, as mentioned
earlier, the Dhabas/ Restaurants
/Hotels were far and few. And
another thing I noticed at these
restaurants was that the local
cuisines
of
Gujarat
were
altogether missing. Wonder what
the local Gujarat fellows each
while
travelling
on
these
Highways. I myself missed the
local cuisines of Gujarat as I
myself had been travelling on the
highways most of the time.
Reached Samakhiyali by the
evening and booked room at Shri
Samjhiyari Vastini Dharamshala
(a new constructed huge building
which was inaugurated by the

Travelersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Adda

honâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ble CM). The room had
attached bathroom facility and
was really big in size and clean,
Charges Rs. 150/-.
Day 6: Thursday, 5th April,
2012
Left for Narayan Sarovar early
morning.Reached Bhuj about

100kms before noon and visited
the Swaminarayan Temple at
Bhuj.Thereafter moved towards
Mata Ka Mud Temple which is
another 100 kms on way to
Narayan Sarovar. The temple was
closed in the afternoon and after
spending sometime in the
compound,
moved
towards
Narayan Sarovar which was

32

another 60 kms away.The Sarovar
had almost dried and there were
very
few
birds
in
the
Sarovar.Thereafter
went
to
Koteshwar Temple which was
also being renovated.and by the
late afternoon returned to
Samakhiyali for the night stay.
Day 7 & 8: Friday, 6th April,
2012
Started for Rann of Kutch by 7.00
a.m. and overshot the diversion
for Rapar and had to take an
interior road which passed
through the villages. I must admit
that these interior roads were also
very well maintained. Although I
was driving at 70 kmpl but was
driving with care as there were a
number of peacocks and other
such birds on the narrow road
which appeared suddenly. I
reached Rann of Kutch by Noon
and was amazed to see the Great
White Rann of Kutch. Must say
that one has to see it to believe it.
It was a bit scary. Visited the
ancient site of Dholavira locally
known as Kotada timba and the
archeological site of the ruins of
ancient Harappa which belongs to
Indus Valley Civilization.I found
that it was only a 2 lane highway
and there were lots and lots of
trucks. It was almost impossible
to drive a two wheeler at that time
in the dead of night. The glare of
the headlights was just blinding
my vision. Moreover, the roads
were almost broken throughout
and somehow reached Pali by
2.00 a.m. The ordeal continued
further till I crossed Beawar and
touched NH 8. Would not advise
anybody to take this route which
till date I remember was the
deadliest road ever in my life, that

Travelersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Adda

too at night and all alone. As I
reached Ajmer the sunlight
welcomed me with smile.
Thanked the Almighty God for
saving my life. Still it was a long
way to cover and with a full day
to reach Home, decided to drive
with ease as there were many
diversions on the NH 8 with no
sign of work being done as it had
been left half completed, and that
too with no proper sign boards as
to which way to turn at many

places.
One has to use his presence of
mind to continue driving on NH 8
in this sector. The road conditions
were really bad. After reaching
Kotputli I was feeling almost
burnt down and now had to take
breaks very frequently. Somehow
reached Gurgaon and thereafter
with not much of a problem and
riding for almost a full day all the
way from Dholavira reached
home at Ramprastha, Ghaziabad.

33

Around the World

Delft, Netherlands by Manojit Pati
Delft, known for painter Vermeer, Delft Blue pottery (Delftware) is a city of South Netherlands/Holland. Delft
is also famous for the Delft University of Technology and its association with the Dutch royal family.

I have visited this place two times
for official reason. First one
during February 2011 and next
one on June 2011. I enjoyed both
the winter and summer. I have
experienced -2 degree centigrade
Travelersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Adda

with strong wind during February
end.

reached there alone on a cold
evening. However, I was lucky
enough to get a taxi to hotel.

First time, I reached there from
Amsterdam airport Schiphol by
train via Den Hague HS station. I
34

Next time it was from Germany to
Netherlands by high speed trains
via Utrecht.
The city have number of
monumental buildings, many
streets
there
are canals of
connected by typical bridges.
Delft is well also known for
the Delft
pottery ceramic products which
were
styled
on
the
imported Chinese porcelain of the
17th century.

The Market Square is the heart of
the city. One can reach old church
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Oude Kerkâ&#x20AC;? which is 75-meterhigh brick tower that leans about
two meters from the vertical. This
was founded in the year of 1246.
During its build the foundations
weren't strong enough to support
the building, and the church
began to lean. As they continued
to build the church they tried to
compensate its lean on each layer
of the tower. Great painter
Johannes Vermeer buried here.

Travelersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Adda

Nieuwe Kerk or New Church
constructed between 1381 and
1496 contains the Dutch royal
family's burial vault is another
place of attraction from the
market square.

market square.

Delft City hall is also a very nice
building see which is again on

Beside the market square there are
few places to get Doner
kebab which is a Turkish dish
made of roasted meat cooked on a
vertical spit. This one is very
common and popular fast food
item in Europe.

There is also a very nice market
on Saturday on market square. I
had enjoyed lots of different sea
fish items here.

I have tasted this from France,
Germany and Netherlands. Basic
preparation is same among the
countries but have slide difference
in taste and content. Few others
variants are like durum, pita
kebab, iskender kebab, shawarma
etc.